JP3178495B2 - Ink jet recording device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention has a plurality of ink jet recording heads which move in the width direction of a recording paper, and ejects a plurality of colors of ink onto the recording paper in accordance with print data to produce a color image. Printer, which prints on paper, an inkjet recording device that mounts multiple inkjet recording heads on the same carriage to enable high-density printing, and more specifically, inkjet recording suitable for such a recording device The present invention relates to a capping device for sealing a head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An on-demand type ink jet recording apparatus for recording print data by discharging ink pressurized in a pressure generating chamber from a nozzle as ink droplets onto a recording sheet is based on evaporation of an ink solvent from a nozzle opening. Increase in viscosity,
There is a problem that printing failure occurs due to drying of ink, adhesion of dust, and mixing of air bubbles. For this reason, the ink jet recording apparatus is provided with a capping device for sealing the nozzle openings during non-printing. As such a capping device, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 125239, a slider which is moved by being pushed by a carriage which has moved to a home position is moved toward a nozzle surface side of a head along an inclined guide surface provided on a frame. There has been proposed a configuration in which a cap member provided on the surface of a slider is pressed against a recording head to seal a nozzle.

On the other hand, with the development of personal computers, graphic processing has become relatively easy to execute. Therefore, a printer capable of outputting a hard copy of a color image displayed on a display is required.
Ink-jet printers that enable such color printing include a black print head and a color printing head in consideration of ink consumption between colors, differences in recording density, and prevention of color mixing at rest. Two recording heads including a printing head are mounted on a carriage. For this reason, a capping device is required for each of the plurality of ink jet recording heads, and a driving mechanism for contacting and separating each capping device from the recording head is required. There is a problem of becoming complicated.

[0004]

[SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention, in such it is an object of Teso was made in view of the problems, a plurality of cap members simple mechanism and away operation of the recording Heddohe of realization can to provide a Louis ink jet recording apparatus.

[0005]

In order to solve such a problem, according to the present invention, there is provided a first nozzle having a nozzle opening.
Ink jet recording head and second ink jet type
A carriage on which a recording head is mounted and a first ink jet;
And a second ink jet recording head.
A first cap member for sealing the nozzle opening of the pad,
A slider on which a second cap member is disposed, the slider having a rotation axis having a central portion in a longitudinal direction orthogonal to a moving direction of the carriage, and
Corresponding to the direction facing the ink jet recording head.
The carrier is rotatable by a support member that is movable
Supported movably in the moving direction of the carriage .
The cap member of
Each is independently swingably supported against Ida
Sealing the first and second ink jet recording heads
It is configured as follows.

[0006]

When the carriage moves with the carriage in contact with the slider, the slider moves in a seesaw motion about the axis and contacts the first recording head, and then a cap member is attached to the second recording head. Nozzle opening surface
Abuts with a time lag while swinging to correspond to
And the two cap members of the same slider
These recording heads are securely sealed.

[0007]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. FIG. 1 shows an outline of the periphery of a printing mechanism of an ink jet recording apparatus to which a capping apparatus according to the present invention is applied. In the drawing, reference numeral 1 denotes a carriage supported by a guide member 2 and a timing belt 3. And is connected to the pulse motor 23 via a.

A first recording head 7 for black printing is provided on the carriage 1 such that the nozzle openings are directed to the recording paper 6.
And a second recording head 8 for color printing (FIG. 4). A black ink cartridge 9 and a color ink cartridge 10 are detachably mounted on the upper portions of the recording heads 7 and 8, respectively. When a drive signal from a head drive circuit (not shown) is received via the flexible cable 11 with such a configuration, the ink cartridges 9 and 1
0, ink flows into the recording heads 7 and 8 and the recording paper 6
Black and colored dots can be formed on the substrate.

FIG. 2 is a view showing the upper surface of the vicinity of the above-described capping device. In the drawing, reference numeral 20 denotes a paper feed roller, and a paper feed roller comprising a pulse motor driven by a gear 22 fixed to one end of a rotating shaft 21. The recording paper 6 is connected to the pump motor 24 and conveyed in accordance with the printing process. Reference numeral 12 in the figure denotes the above-described capping device arranged outside the printing area of the movement path of the carriage 1, a capping position covering the nozzle opening surfaces of the two recording heads 7 and 8 in conjunction with the movement of the carriage 1, Slider 3 occupying two positions: a non-capping position away from the nozzle opening surface
0, a first cap member 31 and a second cap member 32 formed in a cup shape by an elastic material are provided. The opening areas of the cap members 31 and 32 are selected according to the sizes of the corresponding first recording head 7 and second recording head 8.

The first and second cap members 31, 32 are
The suction ports 31a and 32a are connected to pumps 37 and 38, respectively.
Are connected to one ends of tubes 33 and 34 constituting a part of the first and second tube pumps 37 and 3 described later.
8 to receive the suction force. 1st, 2nd
The tube pumps 37 and 38 are selectively provided to the paper feed and pump motor 24 via the train wheel 40, that is, only the first tube pump 37 performs the suction operation when the motor 24 rotates in the reverse direction, and the second tube pump 37 performs the second rotation when the motor 24 rotates in the forward direction. Only the tube pump 38 performs a suction operation.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show one embodiment of the above-described capping unit.
Reference numeral 0 denotes a slider, and first and second cap members 31 and 32 are provided so as to be swingable by shafts 31c and 32c so as to match the interval between the two recording heads 7 and 8 mounted on the carriage 1. . Reference numerals 41 and 42 in the figure denote first and second guide pieces, which are arranged on both sides in accordance with the widths of the first and second recording heads 7 and 8 of the carriage 1, and set the carriage 1 at a predetermined position. The recording heads 7 and 8 are spaced apart from each other. At the tip of the slider 30, at the right end in the figure, the carriage 1 is the first,
When the second cap members 31, 32 and the first and second recording heads 7, 8 have just moved to opposite positions, a flag piece 45 is formed which comes into contact with the projection 44 at the lower end of the carriage 1. An engagement piece 46 is provided at a tip end further than the flag piece 45, and comes into contact with and separates from a guide member 47 fixed to the base.

The guide member 47 has a convex portion 47a for preventing the slider 30 from coming off, a position where the slider 1 is always formed at a fixed distance from the lower ends of the recording heads 7 and 8, and a cap member 31 for capping. , 32 and the positions where they come into elastic contact with the recording heads 7 and 8 are formed.

On the other hand, a shaft 50 perpendicular to the moving direction of the carriage 1 is provided at the center of the lower portion of the slider 30. Both ends of the shaft 50 are connected to the shaft 54 of the base 53 via the long groove 52a. Lever 52 mounted swingably
Is loosely fitted. The slider 30 has a lower end fixed to the base 53 and inclined toward the printing area, and an upper end of a buckling coil spring 56 attached to the non-printing area.

During non-capping, the slider 30 is urged toward the print area by the coil spring 56 while being regulated at one end to the lowermost end of the inclined surface 47b of the guide member 47 and at the center by the lever 52, so that the recording head 7,
8 is such that the gap g does not contact the cap members 31 and 32.
Will be located horizontally at a height at which can be formed.

Further, on the case 61 side of the slider 30,
A valve unit 60 is provided which is connected to the air opening ports 31b and 32b provided in the cap members 31 and 32, respectively. The operating rod 62 projects from the valve unit 60, and when the slider 30 moves to the capping position and the operating rod 62 comes into contact with the case 61, the operating rod 6
2 is pushed into the printing area to open the air
1 b and 32 b are closed by the valve unit 60.

FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 show the pump unit 1 described above.
3 shows an embodiment in which a driving wheel 72 of one pump 37 is driven by a paper feed / pump motor 2 via a train 70.
4 is connectable. Each cap member 31,
The pump tubes 33 and 34 connecting the waste ink tank 14 and the pump tubes 32 are covered with cover cases 73 and 74 so that the outside thereof has a substantially circular shape. Two rollers 85, 8 movably fitted in the long grooves described later of the drive trains 72, 81, 82, 83 fixed to both ends of the rotating shafts 77, 78.
5, 86, 86 are used to repress.

FIGS. 8A and 8B show an embodiment of the above-described guide grooves 90, 90 formed in the driving wheels supporting the rollers 85, 85, 86, 86, respectively. When the paper feed / pump motor 24 rotates in the reverse direction (reference A), the shaft 85a of the roller 85 is turned into the long grooves 90, 9
It moves to the outer peripheral side along 0. Thereby, the roller 85,
When the motor 24 rotates forward (reference numeral B), the shaft 85a moves toward the center and the rollers 85, 85 rotate.
85 will be separated from tube 33 and will lose pumping action.

The second tube pump 38 is configured to operate in the opposite direction to the first tube pump 37. That is, when the motor 24 rotates in the reverse direction, the rollers 86
Moves toward the center and loses the pump action.
When the roller 4 rotates forward, the rollers 86, 86 move to the outer peripheral side and rotate while elastically pressing the tube 34 to generate a suction force.

Thus, by switching the rotation direction of the motor 24, a pump that generates a suction force can be selected. Reference numeral 92 in the drawing denotes a roller pressing piece made of an elastic member such as rubber, and when the driving wheel 72 rotates, the roller presses against the roller 85 and pushes the roller 85 along the long groove 90 in the rotation direction of the motor. Is forcibly moved to a position corresponding to.

Next, the operation of the thus configured apparatus will be described. When the carriage 1 on which the two recording heads 7 and 8 are mounted moves in the direction indicated by the arrow C in FIG.
The lever 102 that rotates is contacted with the inclined surface 103 and is rotated.
And the power of the paper feed / pump motor 24 is transmitted to the pump unit 13. When the carriage 1 reaches the slider 30 located outside the printing area in this way, the first recording head 7 engages with the second guide 42 provided on the slider 30. When the carriage 1 further moves in this state, the first recording head 7 engages with the first guide 41, and the second recording head 8 engages with the second guide 42. Thereby, the slider 3
0 is aligned with the posture corresponding to the carriage 1. When the carriage 1 moves further in this state, the convex piece 44 provided at the tip of the carriage 1 comes into contact with the flag piece 45 of the slider 30. As a result, the first,
The second cap members 31 and 32 oppose each other at a position where the first and second recording heads 7 and 8 of the carriage 1 can be accommodated with a predetermined gap g.

When the carriage 1 is further moved in this state, the slider 30 receives the force from the carriage 1 via the projections 44 of the carriage 1 and the upper portion thereof buckles in the moving direction of the carriage 1. Is received by the lever 52 receiving the urging force of the coil spring 56, and a force is applied to lift the rear end of the slider 30 upward as shown by the reference symbol D in the drawing.

As a result, the rear portion of the slider 30 is lifted up with the shaft 50 as a rotation fulcrum, and the second cap member 32 located rearward of the shaft 50 (on the printing area side) first contacts the second recording head 8. Touch At this time, the cap member 3
2 is attached to the slider 30 to be able to swing to some extent,
Also, since the slider 30 can swing on the base 53 via the lever 52, the slider 30 rises while being guided by the second recording head 8, and comes into contact with the second recording head 8 at a position where it can be sealed ( (FIG. 10).

When the carriage 1 further moves to the case 61 side, the coil spring 56 is no longer able to withstand the force from the carriage 1 and starts to buckle, lifting the slider 30 upward (reference numeral E in the figure). As a result, the slider 30 holds the case side of the second cap member 32
The first cap member 31 is fitted to the first recording head 7 while being lifted as it is fitted to the recording head 8. Needless to say, while the slider 30 swings with respect to the base 53, the first and second cap members 31 and 32 can swing to some extent with respect to the slider 30, and are themselves elastic members. The recording heads 7 and 8 are inserted into the recording heads 7 and 8 so as to be guided by the edges of the recording heads 7 and 8 (FIG. 11).

When the carriage 1 further moves in this manner, the slider 30 moves its upper surface to the recording heads 7 and 8.
It moves to the case 61 horizontally while being restricted by. Then, the operating rod 62 projecting from the tip of the slider 30 comes into contact with the case 61 and is pushed in the direction indicated by the reference numeral in the drawing, and shuts off the atmosphere opening ports 31b and 32b of the cap members 31 and 32 from the atmosphere. In this state, since the coil spring 56 buckles largely, the slider 30 is lifted upward by the elastic force of the coil spring 56, and accordingly, each cap member 31,
Numeral 32 resiliently contacts the recording heads 7 and 8 to reliably seal them (FIG. 12).

When the cap members 31 and 32 are in elastic contact with the recording heads 7 and 8 as described above, the paper feed and pump motor 24 is connected to the drive wheel 72 of the tube pump 37 by the lever 102. 24, the first tube pump 37 and the connection mechanism 76
The second tube pump 38 connected via the rotator rotates. In the first tube pump 37, the roller 85 is guided by the long groove 90 by the rotation of the driving wheel 72 in the direction of arrow F in the drawing, moves in the outer peripheral direction, elastically contacts the tube 33, and starts the suction operation (FIG. )).

On the other hand, a second second tube pump 38
The roller 8 rotates because the drive wheel rotates in the direction of arrow G.
6 and 86 move in the center direction and substantially idle at a position where the tube 34 is not elastically pressed (FIG. 13B). As a result, only the first cap member 31 receives the suction force and sucks the ink from the first recording head 7. The ink discharged from the first recording head 7 to the cap member 31 is discharged to the waste ink tank 14 via the tube 33.

When the motor 24 is normally rotated at the stage when the suction of the ink from the first recording head 7 has been completed, the driving wheel of the second tube pump 38 rotates in the direction of arrow H. To move the rollers 86, 86 outward,
It comes into elastic contact with the tube 34 (FIG. 14A). In addition, the first tube pump 37 is configured such that the driving wheels rotate in the direction of arrow J in the figure, the rollers 85 move in the center direction, and the tube 3
3 moves to a position where it is not repressed (FIG. 14 (b)). As a result, the second cap member 32 sucks ink from the recording head 7. The ink discharged to the second cap member 32 passes through the tube 34 and is
Is discharged.

By selecting the rotation direction of the paper feed / pump motor 24, ink is sucked only from one of the recording heads 7 or 8 that requires suction, so that the ink is sucked from the head that does not need ink suction. Not only can ink suction be prevented, but also a motor with a small rating enough to cover the torque required to drive one pump can be used.

At the end of the suction operation, the last operated pump, in this embodiment the second tube pump 38
Drive wheels 72, 83 in a direction opposite to the suction force generation direction.
Is rotated by about 60 to 150 degrees, the rollers 85, 85 of the first pump 37 are driven by the tube 33 and the roller pressing piece 92, and at a rotation angle of 150 or less, regardless of the position of the rollers 85, 85. Rollers 86 that have not reached the pressure piece 95 to repress the tube 33 and have repressed the tube 34 of the second pump 38,
The first and second tube pumps 386 move to a position where the tube 34 is not elastically pressed by the elastic force of the tube 34 at a rotation angle of 60 degrees or more due to the shape of the long groove 90.
The rollers 7 and 38 are stopped at positions where the rollers 85 and 85 and 86 and 86 do not press the respective tubes 33 and 34 (FIGS. 15A and 15B). As a result, the first and second cap members 37 and 38 can communicate with the atmosphere via the tubes 33 and 34 constituting the pump, respectively, and the recording head of the recording head due to the atmospheric pressure fluctuation caused by the change in the temperature. In addition to preventing printing defects, the roller 8
5, 85, 86, 86 can prevent the tube from being crushed for a long time.

When a series of operations is completed and there is no print data, and the system shifts to the sleep state, this state is maintained. On the other hand, when printing is to be performed subsequently, moving the carriage 1 in the direction of the symbol K in FIG.
Since the second cap members 31 and 32 are fitted to the recording heads 7 and 8, the slider 30 moves in the direction of the reference numeral in the figure following the movement of the carriage 1. When the protrusion 46 of the slider reaches the lowermost part of the slope 47b of the guide member 47 in this manner (FIG. 9), the slider 30 moves the coil spring 5
It is urged by 6 and descends downward to be in a horizontal state. As a result, a gap g is generated between the recording heads 7 and 8 and the slider 30, and the carriage can freely move in the main scanning direction. Therefore, the recording head moves to the print area and prints based on the print data. The action will be performed.
In this state, the engagement piece 46 of the slider 30 is
, So that it stops at a predetermined position.

In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which the nozzle openings of the recording head are arranged downward, but the recording head is arranged with the nozzle openings facing upward or horizontally. However, it is apparent that the same effect is obtained even if the cap is arranged so as to correspond to the arrangement of the recording heads, that is, to face the nozzle opening. Further, in the above-described embodiment, an example is described in which the present invention is applied to a color printer. However, the present invention is applied to a printer in which two ink jet recording heads for ejecting ink droplets of the same color are mounted on the same carriage and a recording density is improved. It is clear that also exerts a similar effect.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention, the shaft
The slider moves seesaw around the center
After contact, the cap member is
Swinging to correspond to the nozzle opening surface of the recording head.
Can be contacted with a time difference
The two cap members of the slider
The pad can be securely sealed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a structure around a printing mechanism of an ink jet recording apparatus using a capping apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view mainly showing a capping device.

FIG. 3 is a top view showing an embodiment of the capping device.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing an embodiment of the capping device in a state in which the capping device is in contact with a recording head.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state in which a paper feed / pump motor is connected to a tube pump.

FIG. 6 is a view showing a structure of a vertical section of a tube pump.

FIG. 7 is a view showing a structure of a cross section of the tube pump.

FIG. 8 is a view showing a shape of a long groove formed in a drive wheel constituting the tube pump by using a first tube pump.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a state where the carriage has moved to a position where each recording head faces each cap member.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state in which one carriage is in contact with one cap member of the carriage.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the carriage has been moved to a position where two recording heads are in contact with each cap member.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a state where the carriage has moved to a suctionable position.

FIGS. 13A and 13B are diagrams showing the states of the first and second tube pumps when the paper feed / pump motor rotates in the reverse direction, respectively.

FIGS. 14A and 14B are diagrams showing states of the second and first tube pumps when the paper feed / pump motor rotates forward, respectively.

FIGS. 15A and 15B are diagrams showing states of the second and first tube pumps when the paper feed and pump motor is stopped, respectively.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Carriage 7, 8 Ink-jet recording head 12 Capping device 24 Paper feed and pump motor 30 Slider 31, 32 Cap member 37, 38 Tube pump 41, 42 Guide member 50 Rotating axis 52 Lever 56 Coil spring 60 Valve unit 61 Case

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Seiji Mochizuki 3-3-5 Yamato, Suwa City, Nagano Prefecture Inside Seiko Epson Corporation (56) References JP-A-5-8398 (JP, A) 4-235052 (JP, A) JP-A-5-193148 (JP, A) JP-A-5-138892 (JP, A) JP-A-4-250059 (JP, A) JP-A-3-136858 (JP, A A) Hikaru 4-40937 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B41J 2/175 B41J 2/165

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A carriage having a first ink jet recording head and a second ink jet recording head having nozzle openings, and a nozzle opening of the first ink jet recording head and the second ink jet recording head. A first cap member for sealing, and a slider on which a second cap member is disposed, wherein the slider has a rotating shaft having a central portion in a longitudinal direction orthogonal to a moving direction of the carriage; The first and second cap members are rotatably supported by a support member movable in a direction facing the ink jet recording head in response to the movement, and movably in a movement direction of the carriage. The first and second inkjet heads are supported independently and swingably with respect to the slider so as to sandwich the rotation shaft. An ink jet recording apparatus for sealing a recording head. 2. The slider according to claim 1, wherein the slider is buckled when the cap member is moved to the vicinity of a capping position, and is urged on the entrance side of the recording head by a coil spring that generates elastic pressure in a direction facing the recording head. 2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotation shaft is rotatably supported by the other end of the support member swingably provided on a base via a long groove formed on one end side. . 3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the slider includes a valve unit that closes when the slider reaches a capping position, and the first and second cap members communicate with the atmosphere via the valve unit. .